LETTER FROM WASHINGTON

The day Reagan was shot--and the world stood still

The Tribune's William Neikirk remembers the confusion and the president's sense of humor

March 31, 2006|By William Neikirk, Tribune senior correspondent, member of the Washington Bureau.

WASHINGTON — I was sitting at my desk when the phone rang. It was Steve Neal, our White House correspondent. He was out of breath, excited. "Reagan's been shot!" he shouted. "They've taken him to the hospital!"

That call 25 years ago Thursday touched off a surge of office activity as we all pulled together to report and write the story. We had early-afternoon editions in those days, so time was of the essence. I paused a moment to gather myself. I had lived through the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King as well as attempts on Gerald Ford's life. I said to myself, "Please not again."

Television caught the whole terrible scene--the pop, pop, pop of the .22-caliber pistol as President Ronald Reagan waved and then winced, the Secret Service's quickness in shoving him into the limousine, and utter pandemonium as the shooter was wrestled to the ground. The cameras caught White House press secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent and a D.C. police officer lying wounded and bleeding on the pavement.

Anniversaries prompt us to reflect on such momentous events and their meanings. I remember the initial confusion as we struggled for information on the president's health and on the person who did the deed. Was this a conspiracy? Could the Soviets be involved? Later it was learned that Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger had put the Strategic Air Command on standby alert. I remember the sense of national unease and the worried looks on people's faces. One never knows how important the presidency is until something like this happens.

At the time, our nation had been yearning for a strong president after oil embargoes, the taking of American hostages in Iran and double-digit inflation had sunk the presidency of Jimmy Carter and brought to office a man considered by the cognoscenti to be an "amiable dunce." Many people had doubts about Reagan's ability to lead, and Congress did not appear in any mood to pass the big tax cuts proposed by this Californian during the presidential election. He had been in office only 69 days when he was shot.

But it seemed as if the whole city, the whole country, even the world stood still as we waited for word on Reagan's condition. Reporters jammed the White House press room. There was nothing else on TV and radio.

Many things suffer when something like this happens, and truth sometimes is one of them. We did not know at the time that Reagan collapsed when he tried to walk into George Washington Hospital without assistance.

As he underwent surgery to remove the bullet, the White House issued assurances that he would recover. His condition was said to be good. Yet the bullet was lodged near his heart and he was losing blood fast. It wasn't until much later that the world learned that his operation was touch-and-go, and that he could easily have died on the operating table, according to attending surgeons. Although rather robust for his age, Reagan was 70 at the time.

This was the day that a gruff fellow by the name of Lyn Nofziger, the president's longtime assistant, took the stage to report on Reagan's comments. The president told his wife, Nancy, "Honey, I forgot to duck," according to Nofziger, and told the surgical team he hoped they were Republicans.

Reagan's ability to crack jokes even when his life was on the line drew admiration and sympathy from Americans, including many who did not care for him. Reagan owed Nofziger much for writing down those quotes to share with the world.

Though recovery would take months, Reagan's cheery attitude gave his presidency new energy and helped push through his tax cuts and other priorities.

One of the oddest events that day involved the behavior of Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who appeared in the White House press room to announce that he was "in charge" while Reagan was in surgery.

In truth, Vice President George H.W. Bush was in the air on his way back to Washington, and evidently Haig wanted to assure the country that someone (namely him) was running things even though Bush was in telephonic communication.

As Reagan lay on the operating table, Haig told other administration officials he considered himself constitutionally in charge at that moment, according to tapes of the conversation. To many critics, Haig revealed an overweening ambition by making this somewhat comic announcement. (He later ran for president and lost.)

It wasn't long before we learned that John Hinckley Jr., a troubled 25-year-old, was responsible for the shooting--a bit of a relief to the country in the sense that no grander conspiracy appeared to be at work.

It is tempting to look back and say that some good things can come out of such a bad thing, but still one cannot see very much positive in it. Security around the president tightened greatly, and now every president is in a bubble where no one can get close without passing through electronic detection devices.

In July 1981, a troubled 23-year-old man shot Pope John Paul II, an event that added senselessness on top of senselessness. We had entered a dangerous new era where no leader was safe.

As it happens, Weinberger and Nofziger died earlier this week. Steve Neal, who later worked for the Chicago Sun-Times, died two years ago.

And Reagan, who went on to complete his term and serve another, died June 5, 2004. Often he is given credit for the collapse of the Soviet Union that ended the Cold War. Things may have turned out differently if he had not survived that fateful day 25 years ago.